Megan Troake scored four goals as Bermuda women’s hockey team thrashed Panama 9-0 at the Central American and Caribbean Games qualifying tournament in Mexico on Thursday.

After Georgia Harris scored Bermuda’s opening goal after just five minutes, Troake netted a hat-trick before half-time with her strikes coming in the space of just eight minutes.

Troake rounded off the scoring with just a minute left to play to supplement goals from Jessica Hollis, Mackenzie Heaney, Abigail Brewer and Grace Lightowler as the national team ran riot.

Coach Kovin Moodley was thrilled that Bermuda had found their shooting boots after failing to take their chances in earlier games.

“Most of the time when you play in these tournaments we generally end up playing some of the stronger nations but Panama are having a tough time at this tournament,” Moodley said.

“We went into the match making sure our game plan was tight, secure and to try not to drop our standards as we chased a win.

“We do have players in the team that identify themselves as goalscorers and they are successful in our local leagues but obviously you get to international level where the goalkeepers and defenders are stronger and some of the things that come easy to you when you are playing back at home is not the same as when you play away.

“So having some of those players develop confidence and score some dynamic goals will help us get stronger and stronger.”

The victory means Bermuda sit third in the six-team group, with their final pool match taking place against Venezuela on Saturday. Moodley is happy with his side and is hoping that as underdogs they can pull off a surprise win against one of the two teams above them.

“Venezuela has a better goal difference so for us to try to hit that top-two spot we would need to chase the game,” he said.

“But chasing that could leave us vulnerable because we have to pick ourselves up for a final play-off game. The feeling is that we’re going into this game with the attitude that will be as compact as possible and avoid overrunning and being inefficient.

“Today helped us as a lot of players who are struggling with getting on the field and getting confident managed to change that. So I think we’re in a good spot to put in a decent performance against Venezuela and our set plays will make a massive difference in that game.”

Bermuda have given themself a massive chance to make it to Dominican Republic for the CAC Games. The top two teams at this competition will progress but, with Mexico having already secured a spot at the Games, the winner of the third and fourth-place play-off is likely to qualify and Bermuda are set to make it into that winner-takes-all match.

“Our aim was to try to finish the group in the top four to give ourselves an opportunity to qualify,” Moodley said.

“We look like we have achieved that, so it’s a great thing for us. We also had a target of winning two games in the pool, which is another thing we’ve ticked off the list. That gives us the confidence to go and do something else and there is the possibility of winning a third game and making an amazing statement by beating a team of the stature of Venezuela.”

The Bermuda men's team play their final pool match today against Panama, with the game providing the guys with a good chance of ending the group stage on a high.

Bermuda’s opponents are the only team in the competition yet to pick up a point and Moodley feels that his squad is ready to put in a winning display.

“If we can go into that game and replicate some of the performance the ladies had in their game against Panama, that would be a good representation of the effort they have put in and how they have adapted at the tournament,” Moodley said.

“We obviously have the breakdown of trying to score goals but the buy-in from the guys has been tremendous. They are confident going into the game and they feel there is a chance of a result going in our favour. A lot of boys are analysing the games on their own to unpack as much as they can and that shows a healthy culture.”